17 Ways to Rock Your Biz…from the Experts

        

Recently, I wrote an article titled, 13 Ways to Rock Your Business into the Spotlight for BizSugar’s ‘Rock Your Business’ Contest. After writing it I began wondering, what would some of the experts say? I reached out to a few experts that are leaders in their fields to find out how small business owners can use online networking, blogging or social media to “rock their business.”

“As a small business owner, one of the best ways to rock your brand is to first understand that social networking is the “new normal” and it’s essential that you cultivate the business – consumer relationship from inside out. In the entrepreneurial space today, you must approach networking, blogging, and social media from a connecting place. When building community and expressing your voice, it has to be more of a feeling and experience, before it can manifest into a how-to or strategy. You can’t be an effective teacher or expert without in-depth understanding of your strengths and being familiar with the environment of your tribe. To remain relevant and resonate with your market, you should know what’s transpiring frequently in their worlds, and where your voice has the greatest impact. For example, where does your audience need the most guidance? What are their barriers, and what’s your remedying approach? Do they respond to “girl-next-door” advice or “conservative” thought leadership? The more you tap into true self, the less convoluted your message. When people are attracted to you and not just your insight, they become advocates of what you do. Ultimately, no matter how your audience prefers to receive and digest information or engage within your community, when all these things work cohesively, they build the type of brand people adore and recommend to others. It’s about true meaningful relationships.” ~ Karlena Wallace, Stiletto Woman Media

“One of the best things you can do to ‘rock your business’ is to get out and meet people. Yep, forcing yourself to interact with people face-to-face rather than in 140 character bursts can help your business grow exponentially. It’s refreshing (and liberating!) to hold a conversation with someone in person who understands where you are coming from as a small business owner. Plus it helps you get out of your comfort zone. Many wouldn’t call that a plus, but how can your business grow doing the same thing over and over again? Stretch your business self by networking with interesting people and watch your business prosper.” ~ Denise O’Berry 

“The search engines (Google, Bing , and Yahoo) boil down to one basic concept: helping users find what they’re looking for. Social media is an excellent avenue to not only help users find what they are looking for, but to better engage your audience as well. Furthermore the impact that social signals have on the overall search algorithm is continuing to increase as search becomes more personalized. What better way to take your business relationships to the next level than by engaging with your customer on a more personal level. Make sure that you diversify your social media strategy. People utilize the various social sites for different reasons. Social media will help you to build intersections between different channels so that your message can’t be missed. Here are a few social outlets that you should evaluate to see which ones are best suited for your business and target audience; Facebook,  LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, and Google+. Whether you want your social media efforts to create a buzz about your business, or to lead to customer acquisition? Each objective requires a different strategy. Before you begin strategizing, you will want to consider your entire ecosystem. Think about your customer persona before saying that you know your customer profile. What do they like? What do they dislike? What is their lifestyle like? Do they have kids? Think it through. This will help you to be on the same page as your customers and better engage them and give them what they need.” ~Jennifer Dunphy, V.P. of Sales & Marketing at Vayu Media

“Theodore Levitt, the great Harvard marketing professor famously said, ‘People don’t want to buy a quarter-inch drill. They want a quarter inch hole!’ What causes a customer to purchase something, is that they have a job to do and they look to your product or service to fix it. So you may think you are selling insurance, web design, legal services, your viewpoint on a blog, sandwiches or home repair, but your customers may be buying status, self-esteem, time savings, price (both high and low), convenience, or maybe peace of mind. For example, when someone buys a drill, they want a quarter-inch hole. They want a quarter-inch hole to hang a picture. They want to hang a picture to improve the look of their home. So, the hardware store is not really selling the drill, they are selling the emotional gratification of having a nice home or just relieving the tension of a nagging spouse with a big Saturday “to-do” list. Once you understand the job your customers are trying to do, it becomes clear which attributes would do the job even better and which features and benefits are relevant. So it’s very important that you ask yourself, What job is my customer hiring me to do beyond the obvious quarter-inch drill?” ~Elaine Joli, indie.bz |elainejoliblog.wordpress.com

“Be Scrappy. The most successful entrepreneurs know how to make things happen. When you are building a business there are going to be significant challenges. You’ll probably stub your toe and take a tumble or two. But you must learn, as my mother used to say, there’s more than one way to skin a cat.  Don’t be timid and meek —quick to throw in the towel. Be courageous. Be persistent. And never be afraid to speak up and ask for opportunities.” ~Susan Solovic, ItsYourBiz.com

“Use freelancers to turn your small business into a virtual multinational corporation on a shoe string budget!” ~Matt Barrie, Freelancer.com

“To ‘rock your business’ take networking to the next level by CONNECTING! After leaving a networking event exert the time and effort needed to begin developing mutually beneficial relationships. The power is in the follow-up! Embrace the responsibility of taking your initial introductions one step further by following-up within 72 hours with an email, phone call, or meeting. Identify those business owners you can add value to and can effectively create strategic alliances with to develop Win-Win scenarios. Success is not achieved alone so continue to connect and collaborate!” ~Cheryl Wood, Cheryl Wood Empowers

“If you’re going to start a business blog, and you want others to actually read it these days, good content is not going to be enough. Whatever you’re blog topic is going to be, make sure that it’s not, ‘just another blog about….’ make it sing! Have a great design, and a great name for it. Also, make sure that you’re blog posts are a nice mix of general information, specific information, and also—this is really important, your personal take on on something going on in your industry. Debunk something. Disagree with others in your industry. (But not just to disagree!) And, start writing.” ~Joel Libava, The Franchise King Blog

“Social media takes a while to become second nature. At first, you’ll feel like you’re tweeting to an empty auditorium, but after a while people will respond to your efforts. Don’t give up! Keep practicing until it feels natural to jump on Facebook or Twitter to share your company news. Don’t be an autobot either; use the same tone you’d use in a casual conversation with a client.”                ~Susan Payton, Egg Marketing & Communications | marketingeggspert.com

“To quickly lift both traffic and awareness to your business and blog, make sure to INTERVIEW professionals, mentors and experts in your field. Use Skype (PC or Mac) and ask them 5-8 questions with an introduction. Spend about 20 minutes or so, record it - and search for transcription services on Elance.com. You must then take this content (audio and text) and post it on your blog for consumption and social media leverage. You’ll not only get great, unique content, but your interviewee will often tweet and push it via their own social media channels. Everybody benefits from it, and you get a natural authority boost via the strong connection. It’s fun and easy, and you’ll learn a lot too.” ~Jon Rognerud, Online Marketing Expert

“Unless you’ve just invented some earth-shattering product, your business has plenty of competition, most of which can easily be found online. So take advantage of the “social” in social media and use it as a tool to distinguish your unique brand from the competition. Highlight your personality, your likes and hobbies when completing your social media profiles to help distinguish your brand. Go beyond industry jargon when you write your blog content, tweets and posts and focus on practical examples. You’ll come across as a relatable figure, a person I want to get to know more about. Remember, people buy from people they like, so when I look you up make sure I’ll actually like the person behind the logo!” ~Kemya Scott, Phisco Marketing